Born at Figline Valdarno near Florence, he grew up in a household tied to medical learning through his father, a doctor. This early exposure to Latin study and healing arts later informed his philosophical idea of curing the soul as well as the body.

As a boy he received the standard Florentine humanist education, reading Cicero, Virgil, and Christian moral writers in Latin. The civic culture of Florence encouraged eloquence and ethical rhetoric, shaping his lifelong belief that philosophy should guide public and private virtue.

He pursued medical training connected to his father's profession while also turning intensely toward philosophy. The overlap of medicine, psychology, and ethics became a distinctive Ficinian theme, especially in later works on melancholy, music, and spiritual health.

Through family connections, he came to the attention of Cosimo de' Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence and a major patron of humanists. Cosimo encouraged him to devote himself to Greek philosophy, creating the conditions for a new Platonic movement in the city.

Cosimo provided him with support and lodging near the Medici villa at Careggi, giving him stable time for translation and teaching. The Careggi circle later became associated with the so-called Florentine Platonic Academy, a network of scholars rather than a formal institution.

At Cosimo's urging, he began the monumental project of translating Plato's dialogues into elegant Latin for Western readers. Working within Florentine humanist circles, he aimed to make Plato philosophically authoritative again, not merely a source of anecdotes or moral sayings.

Cosimo's death could have ended the project, but Medici support persisted through Piero de' Medici and later Lorenzo de' Medici. Ficino’s position as translator and teacher solidified, and his correspondence shows careful diplomacy within Florence’s elite patronage networks.

He entered holy orders, presenting his philosophical work as compatible with Christian doctrine and pastoral care. His priestly identity allowed him to frame Platonism as a preparation for the Gospel, emphasizing the soul’s ascent toward God and the immortality of the intellect.

He completed and circulated the 'Theologia Platonica de immortalitate animorum,' a vast defense of the soul’s immortality using Platonic and Christian arguments. Written for a learned Latin audience, it aimed to counter materialism and bolster moral responsibility in Renaissance civic life.

After the Pazzi Conspiracy and violence in Florence, he remained close to Lorenzo de' Medici while counseling moderation in letters. The political turmoil underscored his conviction that philosophical piety and civic harmony were linked, and that intellectual communities depended on fragile patronage.

His Latin translation of Plato appeared in print, making the full Platonic corpus widely accessible across Europe. He added prefaces and interpretive guidance that framed Plato through Neoplatonism and Christianity, shaping how scholars from Paris to Oxford read the dialogues.

He issued the first complete Latin translation of Plotinus’ 'Enneads,' a milestone for Renaissance Neoplatonism. By presenting Plotinus as a profound metaphysician of the One and the soul’s ascent, he helped define a spiritualized philosophical vocabulary for early modern Europe.

In 'De vita libri tres' he combined medicine, psychology, and natural philosophy to advise scholars on health and melancholy. His discussion of music, regimen, and celestial influences drew scrutiny, yet he insisted it was natural philosophy aimed at supporting contemplation and study.

The death of Lorenzo il Magnifico weakened the cultural and political protection that had sheltered Ficino’s work. As Florence shifted toward religious and civic upheaval, he continued writing and mentoring, but the Medici-centered humanist equilibrium grew increasingly unstable.

When the Medici were expelled and Girolamo Savonarola’s movement rose, Florence entered a period of moral reform and cultural tension. Ficino avoided open confrontation, yet his commitment to learned Platonism now had to coexist with a harsher climate of religious suspicion.

In later years his letters circulated widely among clerics, diplomats, and humanists, offering counsel on love, providence, and intellectual discipline. This epistolary network extended his influence beyond Florence, helping transmit Renaissance Platonism to France, Germany, and England.

He died in Florence, leaving behind translations, commentaries, and a distinctive synthesis of Christianity with Platonic metaphysics. His work became foundational for later thinkers, including Pico della Mirandola and many early modern humanists seeking a philosophically rich theology.